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National Park Service Press Release

National Park Service Awards $830,000 to Protect Chattanooga Battlefield

For Immediate Release:

July 02, 2014

Contact(s):

Mike Litterst, 202-513-0354
Paul Hawke, 202-354-2023

National Park Service Awards $830,000 to Protect Chattanooga Battlefield

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service Director today announced $830,000 in grant money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to help preserve more than 48 acres of land from the November 23-25, 1863 Battle of Chattanooga, one of America’s threatened Civil War battlefields.

“America’s Civil War battlefields are places where we can learn about democracy, sacrifice, heroism and hope in the very places where those concepts shaped our history,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “These grants help preserve the sacred places where America’s highest ideals are enshrined so that this and future generations can better understand the struggles that define us as a nation.”

The grants are from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), one of more than a dozen programs administered by the National Park Service that provide states and local communities technical assistance, recognition, and funding to help preserve their own history and create close-to-home recreation opportunities. Consideration for the Civil War battlefield land acquisition grants is given to battlefields listed in the National Park Service’s Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation’s Civil WarBattlefields (CWSAC Report).

Funds were awarded based on the property’s location within CWSAC-defined core and/or study areas, the threat to the battlefield land to be acquired, and the availability of required non-federal dollar-for-dollar matching funds. Higher consideration is given to acquisitions at battlefields defined as Priority I or II sites in the CWSAC Report.

Grants are awarded to units of state and local governments for the fee simple acquisition of land, or for the acquisition of permanent, protective interests in land (easements). Private non-profit groups may apply in partnership with state or local government sponsors. Complete guidelines for grant eligibility and application forms are available online at: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp.